Cloud Watchers
by Sophia Rosalie Gibbs
Summary: A belated v-day present for Selene98! Hope that you enjoy!


Deer and Books

I walked out of my house, clutching my newest book tightly to my chest. My mom was having

one of those fits again; the kind where she yells for any reason you give her. After getting an earful,

some fresh air and alone time was the perfect choice for me.

Walking down the streets of Konoha, I nodded my head to the people I passed by almost

everyday. Most of them were non-shinobi like myself, so they could relate to the type of things I went

through daily. After skipping a few feet, I decided to stop and enjoy the scenery.

I put my book into large pocket in my blue mid-length dress. The dress was simple, since being

fashionable was one of the least things on my mind. I wore my favorite black boots and bluish-black

tights, complimenting the simplistic dress.

I sighed, and propped my elbows against the wooden fence, gazing into the deeply forested

area behind it. Everything there seemed so simplistic and calm, like something in the book I was

reading. Soon, I was trapped in my reality world, dreaming of swordfights, eerie castles, and beautiful,

picture perfect skies.

"Hello, Shiori." A deep male's voice called behind me.

I turned around to face Shikaku. I had visited him a few times, either to get some medicine for

my parents or just some nice books to read. He seemed like a tough guy, but once you got to know

him, he was actually nice to chat with.

"Hello, Mr. Nara." I said, giving him a respectful nod.

He smiled. "Nice to see you around. Anything that you need? Hopefully no one at home is

sick."

I shook my head. "No, sir. Everyone is fine. I was just thinking how pretty your land is."

He nodded. "It is beautiful isn't it? Well, why don't you come and read here?"

I smiled. "Sure, if its alright with you."

Shikaku laughed. "Always so curtious " He opened the gate and let me in. I saw the winding

forest path and sighed. Everything here seemed so calm and natural.

We walked to the house, and talked about some books he had let me borrow most recently. It

was nice talking to adult without feeling like an inferior teenager. Once at the house, he gave me a slight

smile.

"Just follow the path up to the hill. It's a nice place to plop down and read. Oh, my son's

probably up there now that I think of it. You remember Shikamaru, don't you?"

Hearing his name made my heart beat. Shikamaru.. He was someone I had always looked up

to in the village. I had never talked to him, but it wasn't abnormal. Whenever I tried to talk to guys, they

always shunned me or took me out of the conversation. That's because I love to state my opinion and

I've been labeled as a book worm and smarty pants for most of my life. In the end, I pretty much gave

up talking to them.

I came back to reality and smiled. "I think so. Thank you so much for letting me come here,

Mr. Nara."

He nodded. "No problem, Shiori. You're always welcome here."

I smiled and we parted ways. I walked on the path, my book waiting in my arms, anxious to be

read. After taking a deep breath of this great, forest air, everything felt like I was in one of my favorite

books.

My imagination ran wild, and I became a rich girl, waltzing with the guy of her dreams through

the enchanted forest behind her home. A familiar song played through my head and I forgot about

reality and started to waltz on the path.

I closed my eyes, and let the slight breeze calm me all over. I sighed, and felt my feet hit

something. I fell forward, rolling onto the soft grass.

"Owww.." someone moaned from behind me.

I opened my eyes and looked behind me. It was no other than Shikamaru Nara holding his left

arm. He was the thing that I had hit!

"Sorry!" I said, walking over to him.

He yawned and shook his head. "Can't get a moment's rest even at my own house. Who are

you and what are you doing here?"

I sighed. "I'm Shiori Ruien. Your father said it was okay for me to come up here and read."

He nodded. "Oh, okay. That makes complete sense. Then why would a girl like you hit me?"

Sheesh, there he goes with the whole gender thing. Girls this, guys that. "I didn't mean to hit

you. I wasn't watching where I was going. I guess sorry didn't work. Anyway, why were you on the

ground?"

He blinked. "Isn't it obvious? I was sleeping."

I laughed. That was a no brainer. He was famous for sleeping through almost everything and

being a lazy bum. No one would believe that he really was a genius unless, like me, they liked him, or

they had seen it first hand.

I plopped down on the grass next to him and opened my book. I was about to start reading,

when he pulled the book out of my hands and read its title. " Dragons of the Black Orbs'? I didn't think

girls read these types of books."

I felt a pang in my heart. He must think I'm a nut case. First hitting him and then reading boyish

books.

I gulped down my thoughts and nodded. "It's really interesting, even if it's not a girly book. Do

you mind handing it back?"

He shrugged and handed it back. I took it and wiped the dirt off the cover, and opened it to

where my bookmark was waiting. I started reading and totally forgot that he was sitting next to me. I

sat and read for what seemed like ever.

Suddenly, a finger poked me in the side, making me squeal. I looked up from my book, to see

Shikamaru trying to hold in a chuckle. I frowned and put the book down. "What is it?"

He let out a loud breath. "Sorry. I didn't know that girls made those kind of noises when you

try to get their attention."

I shrugged. "Well, I'm one of the few. I hate it, but I can't control it. People used to call me

hamster girl because of that stupid noise I make."

He smiled and looked up at the sky. "Do you see that cloud?"

I looked up and laughed. There were like twenty clouds! "Which cloud are you talking about?

There are a lot!"

He sighed and pointed to one directly above us. It was in the shape of a dragon! "It looks like a

dragon!" I squealed, gluing my eyes onto it.

"Yeah. I haven't seen one of those in forever."

I put the book down and stared at him. "Really? Do you do this everyday?"

He shook his head "Yeah. It's just something that I find isn't too troublesome to do."

Of course he'd say that. If it wasn't such a lazy hobby, he probably wouldn't even bother. I

looked back up at the sky and squealed. There was one in the shape of Shikamaru's head. "Look at

that one! It looks like you head!"

He looked up and laughed "Yeah. It does. I didn't know girls could make anything out of

clouds."

I sighed and laid my on the soft grass. "Could you forget about gender and just try to have a

good time? You're really full of this snuff aren't you?"

He made a face like he was going to say something, but just stared back at the sky and the

passing clouds.

He looked up at the clouds and pointed once again. "Do you see that one? What does it look like to you?"

The cloud he pointed to looked like a book. It was so cool! "Hey, it looks like a book!"

He smiled. "I guess today must be your lucky day. This is the first time I've seen so many weirdly shaped clouds."

He had no idea that what he was saying was so true. I was sitting with the guy of my dreams, watching the clouds go by. Actually, now that I think about it, it's really romantic.

I sighed happily and looked back up into the cloud filled sky. Soon, a pretty cloud in the shape of a deer floated into my view. It looked so realistic, it could have easily mistaken for a real one if it wasn't a cloud.

"Deer!" Shikamaru and I said at the same time. I looked at him, and started laughing. He smiled and started laughing as well.

I sighed. "Deer are such beautiful animals."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. Have you ever seen one close up?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Not many people own deer, except-" I stopped an looked at him. His family was the only family in Konoha who owned deer. How could I have missed that fast this entire time?

He smiled. "Ah, you probably figured it out. Yeah, we have plenty of deer around here, but they're on the other side of the meadow." He stopped talking and scratched his head. "Maybe, you know, you'd-"

I laughed. "I would want to go and see them? Was that what you were trying to say?"

He huffed. "Yeah, if you let me finish. So, what do you think?"

I looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun had already started to go down. I was usually home before the sun went down! Oh man, was mom going to have another fit!

I grabbed my book and frantically sighed. "Sorry. I'd love to, but my mom will have a fit because I was supposed to b- eep!"

Shikamaru poked me, stopping me mid-sentence. I stopped trying to give him my long excuse and turned to look at him. He gave me a slight smile. "What's the big rush? It's troublesome to worry if you're already late. Come on, I'll walk you home."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I can go home by myself."

He shook his head. "No, I said I'll take you back. You girls think that you always can win, which makes everything so much more troublesome than it has to be."

I guess there was no point in arguing anymore. Shikamaru got up and helped me my feet and made our way down the darkening forest path. At first, we talked about the clouds we had seen today and teased each other a bit, but then we talked about things I usually would never talk about with a guy. It was comforting to talk to Shikamaru, because he never once told me to leave him alone or called me anything those other guys had called me.

After our conversations and laughing, it seemed like a short walk to my house. Once we got to the door, we both gave a sad sigh. "So, I guess this goodbye." I said, trying not to show how sad I actually was.

He shook his head. "Just for now. Remember we have a deer date, right?"

I laughed. He said we had a date! "Of course. Thank you for letting me stay and watch the clouds with you. It was really nice. See you later Shikamaru."

He scratched his head. "Thanks for waking me up and you know.. All that stuff we did wasn't that troublesome after all. Later, Shiori."

I went into the house and watched him look at the house, and smiling, walk out of sight. I smiled, and thought about all that happened today. I had finally spoken to the guy of my dreams, and he didn't treat me like scum. Best of all, we had a date together!

"Shiori! Where have you been?! I wanted you home before sunset!" My mother's screeching voice came echoing down the hallway.

Sheesh.. Mom is so troublesome. I smiled, and made my way to face the wrath if my 'troublesome' Mom.

AN: Hope that you liked it, buddy! ShikaShi forever! Never was a less 'troublesome' pairing! I loved writing this story!


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